Writer: Andy Eck
Editor: Hazard
Editor: Hazard
Disclaimer: Show Game unfortunately only had one writer (me) playing at the whole of UMWIN Div 2, so both, the women's side in particular, are going to have to be more of a series of bullet point impressions rather than an exhaustive report. If you think we've missed something glaring or just want to start a chat about something that caught your eye, please leave a comment below.
Men's Indoor Nationals Division 2
1. Nottingham
2. Liverpool
3. Reading
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4. LSE
5. Liverpool John Moores
6. Dundee
7. Bath 2
8. Heriot-Watt
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9. Nottingham Trent
10. Swansea
11. Exeter
12. Sheffield Hallam
13. Hertfordshire (Spirit)
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14. Chichester
15. Warwick 2
16. Strathclyde 2
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| Proving they can even win at venues that aren't Wind Farm, Nottingham took home the Men's Div. 2 trophy Photo Credit: Nottingham Facebook Page |
Going by initial seedings, the UKU initial tournament seedings predicted the eventual top 8 at UMIN Div 2 slightly better than Show Game, 6 to 5. However, our writer Alun Pinder did beat UKU in correctly predicting Nottingham's top finish at this tournament. Nottingham went undefeated, though they had some close calls, just barely managing to edge out Reading in pools and winning on universe vs Liverpool in the final. I could write a paragraph on that final point alone. There were many turns on both sides, but while Liverpool went in big on the explosive passes 1v1 in the endzone from midfield, they could not overcome Nottingham's more methodical small ball approach. Nottingham were perhaps bolstered by a large squad, enough for two full lines or more. By the end of the tournament and with the final point running deep into overtime, the difference in stamina showed.
That's not to say Liverpool had a bad weekend, though they probably hoped for more on Saturday. They held 7th seed in initial pools losing only to Swansea (Huh??? Don't worry, that's not a typo. We'll come back to this.). In power pools they were soundly defeated 10-6 by Nottingham and only just lost to Reading to again hold seed. But that's good enough for Saturday if you're nearly unstoppable on Sunday. They easily slapped Exeter out of top 8 contention in their crossover, and ended Dundee's finals ambitions in bracket play. They then revenge-killed Reading 10-9 on their way to only just miss out on the top spot. The team largely fed the disc to Will Carter and let him direct the offence, often looking to their tall endzone player for quick scores. They had the third best overall seed improvement at +5, and though they didn't get the title this time, they should be happy with that result.
But if you're talking about overall seeding improvement, then you've got to mention Bath 2, who gained an incredible +9 seeds to place 7th at Div 2. They're the best indoor university second team in the whole of the UK. They did better than expected on Saturday, defeating Chichester in pools and Sheffield Hallam in power pools, but their big jump came from defeating Swansea in the 5v12 crossover. It really goes to show the depth of Bath's program. Their 1st team came 5th at Div 1 and the outdoors team has been dominant for a few years now.
Okay, and now we come to Swansea*. Stop the ride, I'd like to get off now, please. This team seesawed all over the tournament. They came in to the tournament 13th which seemed right given their regionals performance. But after pools they'd defeated Hertfordshire, tournament runners up Liverpool, and the original #1 seed Nottingham Trent (all by a single point) to claim top seed. They were then promptly dismantled by Reading and Nottingham 5-11 and 4-11 in power pools, falling to 5th . On Sunday, they went ahead and chumped their crossover vs Bath 2 and plummeted to 12th . They then beat Warwick 2, a team they'd previously lost to at regionals, eventually landing in at 10th overall. This kind of wild inconsistency might be what you get when you run vert, ISO, weave, match D, 3 and 4 man wall, and two or three different zone looks. Maybe focus on a couple of the good ones for next time?
And that's Men's Div 2! Special shout-out to Hertfordshire for winning spirit. And if we're missing something big, the comment section is right there.
*This writer plays for Swansea, but doesn't particularly mind being seen as biased, so criticise away!
Women's Indoor Nationals Division 2
1. Oxford Brookes
2. Surrey
3. Durham
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4. Sheffield Hallam
5. Sheffield
6. Exeter
7. Warwick
8. St. Andrews 2
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9. LSE
10. Cambridge
11. Chichester
12. Stirling (Spirit)
13. Manchester
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14. Glasgow 2
15. Edinburgh 2
16. Strathclyde 2
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| Oxford Brookes win the inaugural Women's Division 2 Indoor trophy Photo Credit: Erin McGready |
The first year for UWIN Div 2! It took awhile, but we're all glad it's finally arrived. The experience gained at nationals is sure to filter back to the individual regions, creating a positive feedback loop where teams get stronger every year. The women accustomed to attending Division 1 Nationals should beware. In three or four years, I could see many of these teams developing strong programs.
What struck me about these women's teams was that they were all built in fundamentally the same way. That is to say, most if not all of the teams relied on one or two core handlers who were clearly a cut above the rest of the team to set up big gainers downfield to less experienced players and then get free for a quick, easy dump pass. The two teams in the final, Oxford Brookes and Surrey, were particularly good examples of this. Although I'm not sure, as Show Game was unable to write a preview for Div 2, I believe the captain of Oxford Brookes (Erin McGready) is their only player with multiple years of competitive ultimate experience. Not only that, if I'm to believe what I've been told, she cobbled together the team out of some of her netball teammates! It's just incredible that they've managed to get to Nationals, let alone win Div 2. Amazing work.
Similarly, Camilla Spearing of Surrey has built the entire team from the ground up over the past two or three years. Without a women's team and the then new BUCS league preventing her from playing in the Men's outdoor league, she was forced to build a team herself and it's clear her efforts are paying off. In the final, Surrey used a slick ISO to weave play to try to put the disc more frequently in the hands of their star players. Unfortunately, they suffered from rushing the pass at the endzone and in the end weren't able to complete as many points as Oxford Brookes.
Scotland had a rough weekend at Div 2 with Glasgow 2, Edinburgh 2, and Strathclyde 2 finishing bottom three. Although Strathclyde has gone from strength to strength this indoors season, winning the triple crown of Women's, Men's, and Mixed, Scotland have suffered something of a reversion to the mean this season overall. Their mind boggling 11 bids to UWIN Div 1 and 2 will be reduced to a still impressive 8. They'll be disappointed, but you can't keep the Scots down for long. We'll see them challenging for those bids again next year.
And that's Women's Div 2! Special shout-out to Sterling for winning spirit. Comments encouraged.
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